Staff Profile

Career Summary

Biography

Professor Kuczera is recognised as a world authority on the theory and application of Bayesian statistical methods in hydrology and water resources. His research addresses the fundamental problem in application of hydrology to water engineering, namely limited predictive ability arising from large errors in data and model errors arising from limited understanding of dynamics and complexity. His work has focussed on developing methods that make the best use of limited information and quantifying uncertainty to inform the decision making process. In recent years he and his team have developed BATEA, Bayesian total error analysis, which provides a comprehensive treatment of all major sources of uuncertainty affecting hydrologic prediction.

He has made significant contributions in the area of water resources systems analysis. In recent years his team has developed decision support systems for urban water resource planning that use multi-objective optimization to identify optimal trade-off portfolios of capital and operational options. His work on integrated urban water management seeks to maximize community benefits by integrating water supply, stormwater and wastewater at small to large scales.

His early industry experience and subsequent close association have influenced his research program. A feature of his work has been a commitment to develop his work to the point at which it can be taken up by the higher end of the industry. Achievements of significant practical value include the following:

Development of WATHNET5, a generalized simulation and optimization model of urban water supply systems to assist in drought security planning: WATHNET5 introduces new optimization capabilities to the urban water sector and is presently used by several major urban water agencies.

Development of flood frequency guidelines and software: The publication, Australian Rainfall and Runoff, is the industry standard for flood estimation. Kuczera undertook a major revision of the flood frequency guidelines and produced supporting software which has been commerially released asTUFLOW FLIKE.

Kuczera and his team developed a stochastic rainfall modelling framework to assist flood risk design. It can produce 6-minute rainfall time series of arbitrary length at virtually any location with a daily rainfall record. The developed software DRIP has been released for industry use.

Qualifications

PhD, Harvard University, 18/11/1984

Bachelor of Engineering, University of Melbourne

Master of Engineering Science, University of Melbourne

Research

Research keywords

Bayesian

Civil Engineering

Research expertise

Hydrologic Models: Identification, Calibration and Prediction

Use of Bayesian statistical methods to describe parameter uncertainty and to characterise different sources of error.

Understanding and quantifying the predictive accuracy of hydrologic models.

Water Supply Management

Multi-criteria optimization of water resource system infrastructure and operation

Micevski T, Thyer M, Kuczera GA, 'A behavioural approach for household outdoor water use modelling', Proceedings of the 34th World Congress of the International Association for Hydro- Environment Research and Engineering: 33rd Hydrology and Water Resources Symposium and 10th Conference on Hydraulics, Brisbane (2011) [E1]

2011

Haddad K, Rahman A, Kuczera GA, Micevski T, 'Regional flood frequency analysis in New South Wales using Bayesian GLS regression: Comparison of fixed region and region-of-influence approaches', Proceedings of the 34th World Congress of the International Association for Hydro- Environment Research and Engineering: 33rd Hydrology and Water Resources Symposium and 10th Conference on Hydraulics, Brisbane (2011) [E1]

2011

Graddon AR, Kuczera GA, Hardy MJ, 'Simulation and optimisation of integrated urban water management schemes', Proceedings of the 34th World Congress of the International Association for Hydro- Environment Research and Engineering: 33rd Hydrology and Water Resources Symposium and 10th Conference on Hydraulics, Brisbane, QLD (2011) [E1]

Ishak EH, Rahman A, Westra S, Sharma A, Kuczera GA, 'Trends in peak streamflow data in Australia: Impacts of serial and cross-correlation', Proceedings of the 34th World Congress of the International Association for Hydro- Environment Research and Engineering: 33rd Hydrology and Water Resources Symposium and 10th Conference on Hydraulics, Brisbane, QLD (2011) [E1]

Mortazavi Naeini SM, Kuczera GA, Cui L, 'Comparison of genetic algorithm and ant colony optimization methods for optimization of short-term drought mitigation strategies', Hydroinformatics in Hydrology, Hydrogeology and Water Resources: Proceedings of Symposium JS.4 at the Joint Convention of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) and the Internat, Hyderabad, India (2009) [E1]

2009

Cui L, Kuczera GA, 'Multi-objective optimization analysis for the Canberra water supply system', Hydroinformatics in Hydrology, Hydrogeology and Water Resources: Proceedings of Symposium JS.4 at the Joint Convention of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) and the Internat, Hyderabad, India (2009) [E1]

Blackmore JM, Dandy GC, Kuczera GA, Rahman J, 'Making the most of modelling: A decision framework for the water industry', 18th World IMACS Congress and MODSIM09 International Congress on Modelling and Simulation: Proceedings, Cairns, QLD (2009) [E1]

Cui L, Thyer MA, Coombes PJ, Kuczera GA, 'A stochastic model for identifying the long term dynamics of indoor household water uses', Proceedings of Water Down Under 2008: Incorporating 31st Hydrology and Water Resources Symposium, and, 4th International Conference on Water Resources and Environment Research, Adelaide, SA (2008) [E1]

Kuczera GA, Coombes PJ, Dunstan RH, Spinks AT, Holz LM, Kalma JD, 'Integrated Management Of The Urban Water Cycle From The Allotment To The Regional Scale: Opportunities And Benefits', Proceedings Of The International Conference On Water And Environment (WE-2003), Bhopal, India (2003) [E2]

Coombes PJ, Kuczera GA, Kalma JD, 'Economic, Water Quantity And Quality Results From A House With A Rainwater Tank In The Inner City', Hydrology And Water Resources Symposium 2002, Melbourne, Australia (2002) [E1]

Kavetski DN, Franks SW, Kuczera GA, 'Calibration of hydrologic models: The role of input errors', Proceedings of the XIII International Conference on Computational Methods in Water Resources, Alberta, Canada (2000) [E2]

Conference on Water Sensitive Urban Design: Cities As Catchments, 22-24 November 2004$1,465Funding Body: University of Newcastle

2003 (8 grants)

The characterisation of wastewater distribution patterns for the production of decision support systems for pathogenic risk analysis in water catchments$335,000Funding Body: ARC (Australian Research Council)

The characterisation of wastewater distribution patterns for the production of decision support systems for pathogenic risk analysis in water catchments$12,000Funding Body: Analytical Reference Laboratories Pty Ltd

The characterisation of wastewater distribution patterns for the production of decision support systems for pathogenic risk analysis in water catchments. $12,000Funding Body: Greater Taree City Council

Hydro 2000, Perth 20-23 November 2000$1,655Funding Body: University of Newcastle

Water 99 Joint Congress consisting of 2nd International Conference on Water Resources and Environment Research and 25th Hydrology and Water Resources Symposium.$1,304Funding Body: University of Newcastle